The 12 Days of Christmas Challenge
by Fuyu no Akegata
Summary: KakaIru. co-written with Kiterie for the KakaIru Comm's Christmas Challenge on LiveJournal.
1. Here Comes Santa Claus

**Title**: Christmas Challenge 1 of 12 'Here Comes Santa Claus'

**Authors**: Kiterie and Fuyu no Akegata

**Summary**: Parties, Santa Suit, Gifts

**Disclaimer**: We do not own Naruto or any of it's characters, if we got paid to do this we'd quit our jobs and do nothing but... and there'd be more smut. :P

----

Kakashi was only paying partial attention to Tsunade. Then again, he'd heard everything she was saying at least twice before... she was repeating herself, now.

"Kakashi, you aren't even listening to me." He really should have paid more attention to the coldness in her voice.

Kakashi looked up from his orange book, "Did you say something, Hokage-sama?"

"Kakashi..." The loud voice cut through his daydreams.

"Yes, Tsunade-sama?" As amusing an idea as the previous scenario was, and as much as he didn't fear danger, he didn't have a deathwish.

"I said that since Ebisu is out of commission from that little stunt you pulled, you're going to have to cover for him on his mission."

Kakashi blinked. He hadn't gotten to be a jounin by ignoring his instincts, and everything in him was screaming to tread carefully. "With all due respect, Tsunade-sama, it's not my fault he got caught in the traps at my apartment, or that he was there for so long before he was found. I wasn't there."

The Hokage's gaze narrowed. "Kakashi... traps inside the village are to be non-lethal."

"It wasn't a lethal trap, Hokage-sama... It was dye." And entirely justified... he wasn't going to let his mysterious benefactor get the better of him this year, leaving holiday gifts scattered throughout his apartment in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

She sighed. "It was dye... made with the shells of a crustacean. Ebisu is allergic to shellfish, and your dye came from an inferior source. There were shells of small shrimplike creatures with the crustaceans that were supposed to make up the dye. If Aoba hadn't stopped by your apartment to 'borrow a training manual,' and don't think I don't know he was referring to Icha Icha, Ebisu could have died."

"It was an honest mistake, Hokage-sama..." He felt bad for Ebisu. The bright pink dye and the hives were definitely not a good combination.

"So you admit it was a mistake, brat." Kakashi stopped still, alerted by the smug tone in her voice.

"Uh... well..." He hesitated, knowing that tone boded ill for someone, and this time it was most likely himself.

She handed him a scroll. "Here's your mission, Hatake. It's non-negotiable. You're replacing Ebisu. Have fun, and you're dismissed." She turned away and went back to her paperwork as Shizune ushered him from the office.

He let himself be pushed into the hallway, and finally opened the scroll.

Tsunade smiled evilly when she heard the yelp of dismay.

----

Iruka rubbed the back of his neck, wishing the day was already over. Admittedly they were nearly done with decorating the gym. They'd gotten the garland's strung up rather quickly with only one scraped knee from when Moegi tripped running across the hardwood floor. Cutting hundreds of snowflakes had taken a lot less time than he'd predicted, and he had to hand it to Konohomaru, hanging them from the rafters using string and paper airplanes had been fun even if it had taken longer to do it that way.

"Iruka-sensei, we're out of purple frosting," Hanabi informed him, frowning and holding her cookie up to show him. "Konohomaru ate it." She turned to glare her classmate who was grinning and showing Udon his discolored teeth. "And now I don't have enough to finish my cookie."

Sighing, Iruka picked up a bag of red frosting and handed it to her. "You're going to have to get creative then."

"But Hinata-chan wears purple." The young girl stared at the frosting then back up at him.

"I'm sure she'll love anything you make for her. Besides, they're christmas cookies, dress her in a christmas outfit," he said, smiling and pattting her on the head.

Hanabi sighed and shook her head as though his suggestion was the stupidest thing ever suggested, but she left him alone and went back to decorating her last cookie.

His head hurt and he looked longingly at the clock, ten more minutes and his savior would be here. The minutes ticked by agonizingly slow and as the kids finished their final project sent them off to clean up, hoping that would kill the last few minutes.

"Santa will be here any minute, if you guys can get this place cleaned up before he does maybe he'll even bring you a gift early." Iruka picked up the plate of cookies they'd made just for santa and let the scoop the various materials into tupper ware containers, boxes, and gift bags. 'Four more minutes and at least they're not fighting...' The table was wiped and and he sent two of them to put the supplies in the teachers' lounge.

Five minutes later 30 pre-genin were whining about being bored and he'd had to seperate Kichiru and Aki because he'd stuck his wet finger in Aki's ear and Aki had hit him. Two minutes after that Hideaki had gotten up to go to the bathroom and tripped over Mei's cookie bag crushing several of the cookies in the process. Iruka had given her some of the cookies he'd decorated for the santa plate and after promising her that her mommy would understand she finally stopped wailing at the top of her lungs.

He was ready to kill Ebisu when he looked at the clock. His old teammate knew better than to be late and he was nearly five minutes late by this point. When the door finally swung open he actually had to bite down on the urge to scowl at 'Santa.'

And, when a very skinny Santa stepped through, dragging a big black bag, a bright orange book poking out of one of the fur trimmed pockets, Iruka prayed to whatever kami would hear him. 'NO! please tell me that is NOT him and I'm just delusional from all the glue we used making christmas ornaments.'

"Yo." The red-suited Hatake waved jauntily. At the sensei's glare he added, "Sorry I'm late, I got caught up waiting for a herd of caribou to cross my path. Ho ho ho?" Kakashi rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.


	2. I Saw Sensei Kissing Santa Claus

Title: Christmas Challenge 2 of 12 I Saw Sensei Kissing Santa Claus

Summary: Santa, Elves, and... nin-kin?

Authors: Kiterie and Fuyu no Akegata

Disclaimer: We do not own Naruto or any of it's characters, if we got paid to do this we'd quit our jobs and do nothing but... and there'd be more smut. :P

------

Iruka bit down on the need to yell at Kakashi, reminding himself that killing 'Santa' in front of thirty pre-genin was probably not the wisest thing to do. "Class... I need to speak to Santa for a second. If you're all very good while I'm gone I think I have some candycanes hidden somewhere you can have as a treat," he said smiling at the class for a moment before shoving 'Santa' back through the door.

"What are you doing here and where the hell is Ebisu?" Iruka ground out through clenched teeth.

Kakashi backed up as Iruka advanced. "Now, Iruka, before you jump to conclusions... this wasn't my idea. You have to know this wasn't my idea, right?" Kakashi pulled at the red fabric, looking pitifully at his lover. "And barring unforeseen compilcations, Ebisu will be out of the hospital in a few days, Shizune promised."

"What did you do to Ebisu?" Iruka growled, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose as though he had a headache, which he did. He wondered what he could possibly have done that was so horrible that he deserved this.

Kakashi shifted on his feet, looking distinctly uncomfortable. "It wasn't exactly that I did something..." He was stalling for time, now, knowing Iruka wouldn't like his answer.

Iruka glowered, knowing his lover well enough to know the delay for what it was. "If you didn't do anything then why is Ebisu in the hospital and why the hell are 'you' here. Tsunade-sama wouldn't have done this if you weren't the cause of Ebisu being in the hospital."

"He got caught in a trap." Kakashi's gaze was glued to his heavy black boots, and the beard almost hid his embarrassed blush. Almost.

But not quite.

It took a second for the words to really register, Iruka blinked, a slight blush crept over his cheeks at the realization that this was most assuredly Karam getting back at him. Sighing, he shook his head at his lover. "Explain." His tone wasn't as harsh as it had been before but he was incredibly irritated and it showed.

"Er, well... you know I haven't been back to the apartment for a few days..." He paused, daring a quick gaze at his still angry lover, admiring the blush that tinted the chuunin's cheeks.

"Yeah because Gai keeps leaving you really obnoxious gifts..." Iruka hadn't forgotten the turkey that they'd woken up to find wandering around. Or the 'power' cookies that he'd tried to persuade Kakashi to at least 'try' by taking a bite of one. Whatever was in those should not be consumed by anyone other than Gai or possibly Lee. He thought maybe it might be curry.

Kakashi looked mournfully at Iruka. "I wouldn't call them obnoxious, just... poorly thought out. Or lacking somewhat in between the planning and the execution stage." Kakashi shuddered in memory. "That's not the point, though. I... um... changed the traps on my apartment. That way if he got past them, we'd at least get some entertainment value out of it all." Kakashi's one-eyed gaze shifted again, refusing to meet Iruka's.

"Changed them to what?" Iruka asked, snickered softly. Most wouldn't have realized what a bad influence he was.

"Well, I sort of added some dye... bright pink to be precise." Kakashi's face relaxed a little, obviously imagining Gai's skin stained a lovely tint of fuschia that would clash horribly with the green spandex. "But Gai wasn't the one who got caught."

Iruka managed to muffle the laughter threatening to escape at the prospect of Gai turned pink. "Let me guess you used dye made from shellfish?" It didn't take a genius to make the connection and he already knew his friend was allergic so that explained the hospital.

Kakashi nodded, still obviously embarrassed at the blunder, unintentional though it was.

"You shouldn't have gone with the cheap stuff, there are far better options and ones that are hypoallergenic and won't land you in a Santa suit. You also should have keyed it to trip only to Gai's chakra signature," he said smirking and shaking he head. "And I would have added glitter myself."

"Yes, clearly I should have asked the master prankster, himself." Kakashi sighed. "No one else other than Naruto has ever tried, though, and he isn't back yet. I see what I did wrong. Anyway, Tsunade made me fill in for Ebisu. Luckily Aoba stopped by my apartment to borrow a... a training manual, and he found Ebisu and got him to the hospital in time. He'll be as good as new once the pink wears off... and the hives go down." Kakashi couldn't help the tiny smirk that shifted his beard to one side, as much as he felt sorry for the secretly perverted tutor.

Leaning forward Iruka yanked on the beard and planted a kiss on his boyfriend's lips. "Good that will give you just enough time to figure out a way to make it up to him. And me, because he makes a really damn good Santa." He yanked the book from Kakashi's pocket and stepped back. "No porn; 'Santa' doesn't read Icha Icha."

"Santa sounds like a boring guy... no fun at all." Kakashi pouted. "And it isn't porn... it's a 'training manual,'" Kakashi smiled, his visible eye twinkling, his cheeks like roses, the droll little mouth drawn up behind his snow-white beard.

Iruka snickered and tucked the book away out of sight. "Yeah on how to write really bad porn."

Kakashi deliberately stuck out his tongue. "If I put you on the naughty list, does that mean I can spank you, Sen-seiiiii?" The crescent-shaped eye was near hidden beneath the fur trim of the Santa hat as he teased the teacher.

"I'm already on there but if you're good..." Iruka said winking.

Kakashi blushed very visibly above the beard, but there was a definite spring in his steps as he turned, looking back over his shoulder. "What are you waiting for? I think we have some children to entertain, Iruka."

Iruka chuckled and followed 'Santa' back into the classroom.

------

Kakashi couldn't stop the twitch in his eye. It was so... green.

And even tighter than the normal spandex jumpsuit.

But the bells... the bells. Kakashi shuddered.

There was far too much green in the room. Two smiling... iyouthful/i persons wearing the color... and two long-suffering somewhat unhappy persons wearing it, as well. The Hyuuga looked especially irritated, managing to radiate an anti-social aura near as perfect as Sasuke's.

"Tell me you didn't?" Iruka asked from beside him.

"Don't you dare suggest I had anything to do with... that..." Kakashi shuddered again.

The chunin laughed and shook his head. "He is your rival."

"Exactly. Do you really think I'd let him know Tsunade forced me to be Santa for the Academy Christmas party?" Kakashi's tone showed just what he thought about his leader's sense of fairness right now.

"Probably not," Iruka laughed, both still staring at the strange sight. The teacher Gai was talking to was shooting them a strange look that suggested she considered this intentional on their part, some form of punishment for an unknown crime.

"Apparently they think it's iyour/i fault, Iruka." Kakashi gestured to Lee, and the teacher standing next to him who was currently throwing dirty looks in the sensei's direction.

Iruka scoffed, crossing his arms as they watched the kids run around. "That's because she thinks I'm out to get her for calling in sick and leaving me with 60 mini-nin's for 3 days. Let her think it, maybe next time she won't call in sick over a bad perm."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, but otherwise left the comment alone. "Those two look to be more sympathetic souls." Neji and Tenten stood next to the punch bowl with another two teachers, a small herd of children surrounding them. The jounin could clearly see the Hyuuga's tic as a very sticky young girl reached up to touch long, dark hair.

"Oh poor Neji.... that blue frosting is going to clash horribly with his outfit," Iruka snickered.

"You are a truly evil, uncaring man, Iruka." Even a coordinating green frosting wouldn't improve matters for the young man. "I suppose I can do my part to save him and the girl." Kakashi walked behind the stage and came out a moment later.

Eight unhappy looking ninken slowly followed him out, each bedecked in small bells and harness, antlers affixed on their head. Kurenai's team came next, and Akamaru, similarly decorated, but with a glowing red nose, as well.

Iruka stared, transfixed for a moment before doubling over in a fit of laughter. Several of the other teachers echoed his amusement, especially when the kids squealed and ran to tackle the poor nin-kin turned reindeer. Frosting covered fingers that had been far too close to decorating long black hair, ended up tugging on two brown ears instead.

Kakashi led the children to a quiet corner with his summons. Kiba settled the rowdiest children, earning him undying respect from the canines, while Shino directed a swarm of small firefly-like insects to light the Christmas tree. Hinata was left to help Kakashi pass out presents from the large pack. In minutes, each child had a gift and a candy cane from Santa's deep pockets.

The jolly elf-clad Gai came up to Santa. "Such a Youthful interpretation of Santa, my Rival. You are truly filled with the Burning Spirit of Christmastime..."

"Did you say something, Gai?" Kakashi asked, looking at a scroll of names marked Naughty and Nice. Jiraiya's name was most prominent at the top of the Naughty column. "So Hip and Modern, as always, but can you be Traditional? I Challenge you... to a noble contest of Christmas carols."

iDeck the halls with boughs of holly

Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la

'Tis the season to be jolly

Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la

Don we now our gay apparel.

Fa-la-la, la-la-la, la-la-la

Troll the ancient Yuletide carol.

Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la./i

Gai's voice wasn't unpleasant, but Kakashi kept up a running critique.

Tsunade slipped in mid-way through the first verse, stopping next to Iruka. "Looks like the brat didn't do so badly, after all."

Gai continued singing as Kakashi mumbled his opinions.

Iruka slid up beside him and poked him in the shoulder. "Santa should keep his comments to himself unless he thinks he can do better..." he remarked, leaving the baiting obvious and smirking and shoving the other lightly. "Kids, do you want to hear 'Santa' sing?"

Kakashi raised a single eyebrow, then got a decidedly naughty glint in his eye, smiling directly at the chuunin.

iHave a hottie naughty Christmas!

It's the breast time of the year!

Lotsa "elves", with lovely shelves,

And red-furred white-trimmed rears!

Have a hottie naughty Christmas!

And when you walk down the street

Say hello, to girls who show,

Their reindeer-rumps so sweet!

Oh, ho! Your missile-toe!

Hung where she can see!

Some hottie waits for you -

Kisses, from her knees!

Have a hottie naughty Christmas!

Ev'ry Star Trek geek'll cheer -

"Oh my Scotty, beam me up

A naughty Christmas, this year!"/i

Iruka's eyes widened and he stared, surprised Kakashi would actually dare to do it. He didn't even notice Tsunade until she leaned over to say something. "He could probably have sung any carol you asked. Minato taught him. I'm betting Ji-Ji corrupted everything Min-chan showed him, though."

Shaking his head, Iruka very subtly reached out and pinched Kakashi's arm and gave him a 'behave or else' look. Tsunade laughed from beside him before leaving to see if she could get some punch to spike.

"I saw sensei kissing santa claus, underneath the mistle toe last night... He didn't see me sneak down the stairs to have a peek..." Hanabi sang cheerfully from where she stood behind Iruka and 'Santa' until they turned around, then she smiled innocently and went to get another cookie.


	3. Skating

Title: Christmas Challenge 3 of 12

Summary: Jack Frost, Ice Skating, and Mittens

Authors: Kiterie and Fuyu no Akegata

Disclaimer: We do not own Naruto or any of it's characters, if we got paid to do this we'd quit our jobs and do nothing but... and there'd be more smut. :P

------

"Iruka-sensei, Iruka-sensei!" Chiyo squealed tugging on his hand. "It's snowing Iruka-sensei!"

Smiling, he crouched down. "Do you want to go out and play in the snow, Chiyo-chan?"

The tiny girl bobbed her head, practically jumping up and down in her excitement. "I wanna make a snowman and a dog with antlers..." she began, her expression strangely serious despite the bouncing.

"Then what are we still doing inside hmm, Chiyo-chan?" He tossed a quick glance in Santa's direction and tried to decide if Kakashi really had something to do with the snow but couldn't make up his mind on the matter and shrugged. "Well you better go tell the others so we can pick things up before we head out.

Shizune came into the gym, laughing and shaking snow from her coat, big fat flakes lodged in her hair and just starting to melt in the warmth. Even smelling the slight taint of alcohol in Tsunade's punch couldn't wipe the smile from her rosy-cheeked face. She acquired a mug of punch for herself and came back to the Hokage's side. "Why didn't you ever make Kakashi be Santa, before? He seems to be doing a great job, so far. No crying children, Iruka hasn't collapsed in a fit of apoplexy, and he's even got an ice skating pond set up, outside."

"He also managed to get through a verse of one of Jiji's perverted carols, and somehow Gai found out he was going to be Santa and came dressed as an elf... and dragged his poor team with him." Tsunade gestured with her beverage in the direction of a corner that even from a distance looked very very green but mostly devoid of people.

Iruka moved around the room letting the other teachers know and slowly herding the kids out the door. It took one of the teachers standing in front of the door checking for hats and mittens to keep the kids from just bolting out into the cold weather.

The kids piled outside with the teachers slowly following along behind. Tenten and Neji were the last two out, Tenten practically dragging the boy along behind her. Iruka held the door open and resisted the urge to laugh, understanding the teen's resistance to being seen in the silly looking outfit.

Closing the door behind them, the chunin turned to find his boyfriend leaning against the wall looking smug. "Yeah... okay, you make a good Santa, you're a regular old Jack Frost." He paused, smirking. "Even if you do look really silly."

"Silly?" Kakashi looked down at himself, trying to see what Iruka meant. "You wound me, Iruka." The beard hid his face, but a pout was very audible in Kakashi's voice.

"Santa shouldn't be so skinny and I could have sworn that costume was in better shape last year when Ebisu wore it." He laughed and shoved Kakashi's shoulder. "And where the heck did you get the idea to put antlers on the dogs? They're probably ready to kill you now."

"Probably," Kakashi fake smiled in agreement. "I saw a Christmas special through a window... there was a mean looking green guy and a dog with an antler pulling the sleigh."

"Then why aren't you in green?" Iruka teased lightly.

Kakashi just blinked at Iruka. "He was green, not dressed in green. Besides, I learned my lesson with Ebisu... And Gai is wearing more than enough green for the rest of us."

Laughing the brunet turned to watch the kids who were excitedly sliding across the ice with their sandals, some of the older ones put on the blades on but most of kids just didn't seem to care and were happy slipping around and occassionally falling.

Iruka smirked and glanced at Kakashi out of the corner of his eye. "Went all out, I see. Pull this off too well and she's going to make you did it again next year and the year after and the year after that...."

"She'd still consider it after my song? What kind of Hokage is she? Doesn't she care about our impressionable youth?" Kakashi chuckled and slouched against a tree, watching the children slide around the impromtu pond.

"I think she liked that particular tune," he chuckled. "And, be careful or you might start wearing green and making up silly rules."

Kakashi glared at Iruka. "Do the mini-nin always make you this mean?"

"You spend 8 hrs a day with them and see how sweet you are at the end of the day." The sensei chuckled, shaking his head. "No, wait they'd probably all end up tied to the ceiling with socks stuffed in their mouths before lunch."

"It wasn't a sock, it was a mitten. And he tried to bite me, first. It was self-defense." Kakashi was assuredly pouting, now.

"Oh well excuse me, the difference is so important," Iruka said rolling his eyes. "Big scary copy-nin can't take a little kid biting him?"

"Not in front of the pack. How am I supposed to work with my ninken if I don't have their respect? The little brat was compromising the village's security." And surely that wasn't a whine coming from Kakashi...

Iruka burst out laughing at the idea of a pregenin brat 'compromizing the village's security'. "Oh yeah I'm sure the pack would lose all faith in you if you hadn't strung the kid up by his toes."

Shooting a glance between the ice and Kakashi, Iruka smirked. "How about we 'test' your theory..."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow questioningly.

Grinning, Iruka grabbed his hand and pulled him over to where the blades were lying. "Come iceskate with me, prove 'Santa' actaully knows what he's doing and isn't easily intimidated."

Kakashi laughed. "I had an extended mission in Snow Country when I was younger, Iruka. Skating doesn't scare me..." iAnd neither does the horde of mini-nin./i

"I was more concerned about you not knocking over the mini-nins than you falling on your ass. Though.... that would be entertaining." Iruka chuckled, pulling the blades on his shoes and standing up.

He watched Kakashi put on his own, noting the the fingerless gloves. Stepping carefully through the snow he tapped Miko on the shoulder and whispered in her ear. She reached inside her purse and handed him what he'd asked for. Returning to where Kakashi was now standing, Iruka held the mittens out. He flashed a quick handsign and leaned over to plant a kiss on his boyfriend's nose before then dropping the justsu. "Wouldn't want you to get frost bite and not be able to hold the reins.

Kakashi smiled a little shyly, thankfully accepting the mittens, and then slid slowly onto the ice. Within seconds, he worked up speed, weaving in and out of the throngs of children before coming once again to a stop before Iruka, grinning happily. "Coming?"

Laughing, Iruka slid out on the ice, smirking. "Hey kids... Santa needs a hug!" And immediately the thirty or so kids in close proximity practically fell over themselves as they moved to give 'Santa' a hug.

iThere's definitely an evil little chuunin sensei on the naughty list.../i Kakashi suffered in silence, only occasionally sending a baleful one-eyed glare Iruka's way. Eventually, the children settled down and they began skating again.

ibBAM!/b/i A hard-packed missile of white impacted with the back of Santa's head, exploding into a shower of frozen dust.

"Just spreading the holiday cheer," a tall, scarred man in a trench coat and bandana smiled quite sadistically as he passed.


	4. Jingle Bells

**Title**: Christmas Challenge 4 of 12  
**Summary**: hyper children, school holidays, sledding  
**Authors**: Kiterie and Fuyu no Akegata  
**Disclaimer**: We do not own Naruto or any of it's characters, if we got paid to do this we'd quit our jobs and do nothing but... and there'd be more smut. :P

------

_**BAM!**_ A hard-packed missile of white impacted with the back of Santa's head, exploding into a shower of frozen dust.

"Just spreading the holiday cheer," a tall, scarred man in a trench coat and bandanna smiled quite sadistically as he passed.

Within seconds, the air was thick with snowballs. Younger children lobbed lopsided objects haphazardly while their elders aimed aerodynamic projectiles with near deadly intent. Twenty minutes later, children and adults alike were scattered around the pond, laughing and catching their breath and putting the blades away.

After a breather, a few of the older kids brought out sleds. The trudged up a small slope and loaded as many of the younger ones as they could, then worked up speed, racing and seeing who could go the farthest distance.

Iruka and Kakashi watched with amusement as Etsuko-sensei, the teacher who had been glaring at Iruka earlier, tried to fend off offers of assistance from Gai. The other teachers had already managed to escape into the gym to start cleaning up.

"Thank you for the offer, Maito-san. However, Iruka-sensei and 'Santa' will need your help far more than us," she said, tossing a look that clearly read 'You can deal with him' at Iruka. Then she slammed the door shut, leaving Gai pointedly outside.

The two less enthusiastic members of the team stood shivering, and staring disappointedly at the closed door. Their hopes to escape the cold and hyperactive children, lost thanks to their overly enthusiastic team leader. Iruka smiled softly, herding them back to the group of children and a large container of hot cocoa.

The chuunin sensei stood talking to his former students for a few minutes as they watched the kids playing. He politely ignored the way Neji stood comfortably beside his teammate at an obviously deliberate distance. The two weren't touching but if either shifted even slightly they would be. Iruka smiled at the subtle method and wondered which had come up with it or it was something they'd simply developed. On the one had, Neji was the analytical one. But, on the other, Tenten was not as oblivious as some of her female classmates and Iruka would not have put it past her. He didn't bother to wonder why they being restrained, it suited them both to be that way. Especially, given who their jounin sensei was.

They spent some time talking, mostly about the missions they'd been going on and techniques they were learning. It amazed him a bit that they held Gai in such high regard, given the frustration they obviously felt at his more flamboyant behaviors. And Iruka found himself caught up in their conversation, Kakashi leaning against the table beside them, occasionally interjecting comments. So, it took him by surprised when he felt somebody tug on his sleeve.

"Hello, Manami-chan. Why aren't you sledding with the others?" he asked, smiling brightly down at the little girl.

She shook her head and held her arms out, clearly wanting to be picked up. She was the youngest in his class and extraordinarily bright but also very reserved. And, it made him wonder if Kakashi had been at all like her as child. He laughed and picked her up, imagining a very small version of his boyfriend doing the same thing to Yondaime-sama. The idea of the very reserved man being so utterly cute seemed contrary and perfectly plausible at the same time. Laughing softly, he picked her up with one arm still holding his cocoa in the other hand. He offered her a sip of his cocoa and watched as she gulped the barely warm chocolate down.

Kakashi watched the small girl. She almost seemed too young to be part of Iruka's class, although he knew that was ridiculous, considering he had been younger than her when he graduated. Still, he knew what it was like to be 'the baby' of the class, and how it felt to be left behind by the others, even when it was unintentional. He had an idea for something that might help. It was about time she was the one her classmates envied, instead of the other way around.

Kakashi let out a piercing whistle and his summons gathered around. He cocked his head to the side and glanced at the child, giving an imploring look at the ninken. Eight heads turned around to look at the girl shyly smiling up at her Iruka-sensei, then eight sets of eyes looked at each other, each wondering when the boss had gone so soft. Still, it looked somewhat important to him, and the little one was sort of cute. The pack nodded as one.

Kakashi nodded at Bull, and the big dog padded slowly to his side. "Iruka... call the children in. I have an idea."

Raising an eyebrow Iruka turned to look at his boyfriend, and then the dogs. Laughing softly he shook his head. Deep down Kakashi was just a big softie, even if he tried to hide the fact. Turning around again, he bellowed for the kids to come over. Most practically ran over, wondering what new thing was planned for them. Several though took a few more runs at the hill before trudging over.

"Line up the sleds, smallest to largest, one behind the other." Kakashi waited until they had finished and then set to work with a length of rope and some chakra wire, finally calling his pack over. He left a long piece of rope hanging free, and the dogs grasped it between their teeth.

He tapped Iruka on the shoulder, holding out his arms. "Manami-chan? I need someone to guide Bull for me, and you are just the right size not to be too much of a burden for him to carry. Would you help me, please?" The girl nodded shyly and to Iruka's surprise, climbed into Kakashi's grasp.

He set her carefully in place on the huge bulldog's back. "Hold like this, onto his collar, and squeeze here, with your legs. He will slow down if you feel like you're going to fall, but he won't let you. Lead him around the academy grounds in a big circle, the other dogs will listen, too."

He turned to the rest of the children. "Load the sleds carefully and sit still so you make their job easier, okay, guys?"

Iruka watched the kids climb into place. Hinata climbed onto the sled behind her sister wit her cookie poking out of her pocket. Shino sent a few bugs hovering around them, lighting the dogs and sleds up decoratively before joining Neji and Tenten beside the cocoa. Gai and Lee stood beside the dogs talking rather loudly and animatedly about the wonders of winter. And at the very end of the train of sleds was Kiba on Akamaru's back, grinning like a fool.

Smiling, Iruka reminded himself to tease Kakashi about this later. All that said, it amazed him how good the man was with kids, particularly Manami-chan. He shook his head and stared after the kids as they slowly made a long loop around the grounds. He would definitely be teasing him about it.

Before the kids were halfway around the rest of the teachers were coming out, bits of tinsel in their hair and frosting marking their clothes. He pointed to the kids and they turned to watch just as Lee did a cartwheel and Gai flipped onto his hands and started 'dancing' upside down. Iruka was amused to see Etsuko smile and shake her head at the sight.

Finally, the kids swung up beside the teachers, giggling madly. They gave them each a cup of hot cocoa and shooed them off with "Happy Holidays" and "Enjoy the break." After the last one disappeared from sight, a loud whoop went up as the teachers cheered. They loved their kids but they_** cherished**_ school holidays.


	5. Baby, It's Cold Outside

**Title**: Christmas Challenge 5 of 12

**Summary**: snow, wet socks, warm blankets

**Authors**: Kiterie and Fuyu no Akegata

**Disclaimer**: We do not own Naruto or any of it's characters, if we got paid to do this we'd quit our jobs and do nothing but... and there'd be more smut. :P

It was dusk by the time Kakashi and Iruka began walking home through the snow. As they first left, their ears still rang with the happy shouts of the children starting their holidays, but eventually the falling whiteness muffled all sound except for the crunching of their feet in the snow. They held hands, leaning against each other as they talked softly, laughing and sharing as all lovers do. Kakashi had taken the Santa suit off and was wearing his uniform again, but had whimsically decided to keep the hat on, and the little white pom-pon on the end swayed gently as they trudged through the darkening evening.

"This is nice..." Iruka said, his arm linked with Kakashi's as they headed in the vague direction of his apartment. It had been awhile since they'd had a chance to spend time together. The hokage always tried to take care of as many missions before the holidays as possible so the fewest number of people would have to be away during them.

"Yeah. Finally have some time to just relax, see you for more than a few minutes." They didn't bother hurrying, despite the cold. Right now being together was the important thing. "Sorry about the carol, Iruka. I shouldn't have done that in front of the kids, even if it wasn't that bad."

Laughing, the chunin shook his head, pony-tail swishing at the motion. "No, you shouldn't have. If only because I know I'm going to be hearing that carol from them when they get back. Which means their parents will undoubtably hear it. And, that isn't going to be fun..." He shoved Kakashi with his shoulder. "But it was pretty damn funny and Tsunade seemed to enjoy it so I'll just point the angry parents in her direction. After all she's the one who made you Santa."

Kakashi shrugged. "It wasn't that bad... except for Gai. The elf suit was a bit much. Ah, but he enjoyed it. And Lee. Neji and Tenten not quite as much, I guess." He turned his head up to look at the sky as the continued, and felt the soft brush of snowflakes against the small patch of uncovered skin. "This is good, though. The holidays and everything. Being together. It's almost hard to believe things are quiet enough that I'll be here for Christmas this year. I usually volunteer when missions come up. I haven't had anyone to spend it with for a long time, always let the ones who did have people spend time with them..."

Iruka blushed slightly and leaned against Kakashi for a moment. "I've had friends for Christmas but never anything like this. Nothing ever seemed to work out that way around this time of year," he said shrugging. "Probably has to do with the stress and so many missions around this time of year."

Kakashi was silent, but he held Iruka close. The last time he'd stayed with anyone for Christmas, he'd been with his sensei, his team. It hadn't been perfect, they'd has as many lessons to learn about teamwork as Team Seven, but it had been good. How much better could this be, with Iruka?

Pulling his keys out of a pocket Iruka finally released the hold he had on his boyfriend's hand. "Coming in?" he asked, slipping it in the lock and releasing the jutsu that set the traps. "As much as I love the snow, I'd much rather be inside curled up than out here in it."

"Yeah, it'd be nice to warm up some. There were times in Snow Country I felt like I'd never be warm again. A long enough mission there, and you quickly lose some of your enthusiasm for snow, I guess." He followed Iruka and slid his snow-caked footwear off just inside the door.

Iruka kicked his shoes off and then hopped around, pulling the wet socks off before flinging them at a slowly growing pile beside the door. He toss them in to wash on Saturday, but for now the corner was as good a place as any in his opinion. "Why is it, no matter what I jutsu I use on my shoes my socks always end up soaked, even if the damn shoes themselves are dry?"

"Murphy's Second Postulation of Winter," Kakashi deadpanned as he removed his fingerless gloves. The mittens Iruka let him borrow were far more practical for days like this. "It's the correlary to the one that says the degree of temperature change and the rapidity with which the temperature drops and the wind speed picks up are inversely proportional to how warmly you didn't dress that day."

Laughing and shaking his head, Iruka padded into the living room. "I'm going to light the fireplace and make tea, you want to get the extra blankets out of the cupboard in the hall?"

"Mmmm, that sounds like a good idea." Kakashi went down the hall and retrieved more blankets than they really needed, especially if Iruka was building a fire, but if nothing else, they'd make a soft place to rest.

Iruka lit the gas fireplace then walked into the kitchen to get the tea and maybe the chocolates he had stashed in the tiny cupboard above the stove. He set the water to boil as he pulled out the necessary items and set them on a tray. Pulling down the box of candy he laid two dark chocolate truffles beside each cup. He fidgeted with the chocolates, taking one out and popping it into his mouth while he waited for the water to boil. It wasn't an overly sweet taste just barely and it was heaven dusted in cocoa powder. He pulled the boiling kettle off the stove and set it in the center of the tray on a trivet. Then, tray in hand, he returned the living room.

Kakashi was busy making a soft warm nest from the blankets and looked up, smiling, as Iruka entered the room. "A fire, warm blankets, and you... Could this night get any better?" He chuckled, realizing how silly he must sound, but everything seemed so different this year. Suddenly, he was a part of one of those happy couples leaning close, kissing beneath the mistletoe, exchanging tokens of love, and keeping each other warm. Finally, he was looking forward to the holidays.


End file.
